Despite the chilling rain that fell Saturday morning, AU students gathered in Freedom Plaza to support the 25th annual Aids Walk Washington.
Many campus organizations formed teams to participate in the walk, including the Class of 2009, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc., Alpha Phi Omega and other AU students.
Chelsea Strandberg, a sophomore in the School of International Service, lead the Class of 2009 team. Strandberg also organized a team last year as a resident of the community service floor in Letts Hall.
Better organization helped her to get more people to register this year, she said.
"Last year I didn't know how to use Facebook to get the word out," Strandberg said. "This year, I'm much more organized."
As team leader, Strandberg also faced the challenge of getting people out to the walk.
"I knew when I told people they had to be up at 8:30 [a.m.] they'd lose interest, but I just tell them that people still have AIDS if it's early, cold and raining," she said.
Strandberg said she thinks it's great all of the people walked in the event, even though it was a little inconvenient.
"I have a lot of health problems in my family, and AIDS is a problem that affects everyone, so I think it's important that we're out here," Strandberg said.
Other students agreed, saying their reasons for coming to the AIDS Walk included community support and the desire to spread information and awareness about the AIDS epidemic.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that over 1 million Americans are living with AIDS. More than 15,000 of these cases are thought to be in the D.C. metropolitan area.
Devonna Bowie, a junior in SIS who walked with Alpha Kappa Alpha, said her organization was walking especially to raise awareness about the disproportionate number of black women who are affected by AIDS.
"I believe it's a wonderful cause that people really need to be aware of today," Bowie said.
D.C. Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, who spoke at the beginning of the walk, emphasized the importance of raising awareness about AIDS. AIDS tests should be part of every health examination, Norton said.
"You owe it to your city" to get tested and spread awareness, she told the crowd.
Proceeds from the walk go to the Whitman-Walker Clinic, a non-profit organization created by and for the gay and lesbian community.
The clinic performed over 9,000 HIV tests in 2005, filled over 20,000 prescriptions and distributed over 3,600 bags of groceries to the needy.
Don Blanchon, CEO of the Whitman-Walker Clinic, spoke to the umbrella-spotted crowd before it departed on the 5K walk.
Blanchon told the crowd his brother died from AIDS-related complications seven years ago. When giving his thanks to different groups with outstanding participation, Blanchon expressed his appreciation for the university students who came out and showed support.
